Hit the road for a "One-Tank Trip" around Southern Ontario.
Adventures worth the drive from the syndicated newspaper/web column by Jim Fox

Welcome

Greetings to the many thousands of readers over the past month from across Canada and the United States, as well as countries including the United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, France, India, Australia, Japan, the Ukraine, Mexico, Romania and the Netherlands.

Saturday, August 31, 2013

“Spies” will be
taking to the downtown streets of this city north of Toronto on Sept. 14 and 21
looking for clues in an “interactive puzzle adventure game.”

“Your mission, if
you choose to accept it: solve as many of the 30 puzzles hidden around downtown
Barrie as you can within 60 minutes,” says “mastermind” Vanessa B Baylen.

Double agents lurking

Spies of Barrie – similar
to the Amazing Race, geocaching, Professor Layton or MIT’s Mystery
Hunt – is a game designed to challenge the minds of players and celebrate local
businesses and artists.

But be careful: double
agents lurk at every corner.

Vanessa B Baylen is
the “mastermind” of the Spies of Barrie. (Jennifer
Klementti Photography)

And, a word of
warning: “Good spies often go unnoticed by the general observer. A good rule of
thumb is to sneak around town; if you draw too much attention to a hidden
puzzle or solution, you may well reveal information to a competitor or double
agent.”

Presented by WhoDunnit Events, here’s
how it goes down, according to Baylen:

“Chapter One: New Recruits
has you in the role of a new spy being tested by the agency for placement in
future missions.

“You and your
fellow spies will meet at the rendezvous point (a secret location provided only
to ticket holders) where you must complete your first task: locate your spy kit.

“Spy kits include a
map with the puzzle locations, instructions of what to do once you arrive at
them, as well as the location of the final meeting place.

“You have ultimate
freedom to devise your own tactics for playing the game; you may collaborate or
work individually.”

A detective
investigates an object for clues in a WhoDunnit Events’ production. (Photo by Vanessa
B Baylen)

Puzzles will be
hidden around downtown Barrie and must be solved within the allotted time.

They might include
brain teasers, such as physical, visual, linguistic and mathematical puzzles.

“No specialist
knowledge or tools (like a smart phone, GPS) are required and the puzzles are
‘Google proof’.”

Although puzzles
are designed at an adult level, the game is suitable for ages seven and older.

It’s a mission
impossible, as Baylen said no one person can traverse Barrie and solve all 30
puzzles within 60 minutes.

“This game has a
lot of scope for creating your own strategy. You may participate solo or as a
team, compete or collaborate, stick with one tactic or change your style
halfway, trust spies you know or ones you’ve just met,” she said.

It’s also an “out-of-the-ordinary
way to explore the city,” and for out-of-towners to get to know “beautiful downtown
Barrie in the early fall,” Baylen said.

All participants are
required to wear a bow tie for easy identification.

A detective goes
through collected evidence in a WhoDunnit Events’ production. (Photo
by Julia Atkinson)

The tickets feature
a bow tie, so players can simply pin that to their clothing or create or buy a
tie.

Spies of Barrie is a
new event for Baylen who was born in Canada and raised in Australia.

If sufficient
interest exists, subsequent chapters will “flesh out a detailed alternate
reality world players may dip in and out of,” including similar events in other
cities.

She has been
creating interactive experiences for 10 years while her best-known event is Death
by Chocolate, the classic detective murder mystery dinner party with chocolate
tasting, presented in three countries.

Map showing the
area included in the Spies of Barrie event.

Need to know

Spies of Barrie
takes place on Saturday, Sept. 14 and 21, with sessions starting at 11 a.m., 1 p.m.
and 3 p.m. (There’s an alternate date of Sep. 28 in the event of severe
weather.)There will be a maximum of 50
spies/participants per session.

Come and get it –
free burgers – at Webers, a Muskoka cottaging mainstay burger joint since 1963 on
Highway 11 north of Orillia.

Long lines
sprawling into the parking lot are common at Webers, north of Orillia. (Jim Fox photo)

It happens on
Friday, Sept. 6 from 10:30 a.m. to “celebrate the launch of Cottage Life, the
Channel,” when the first 5,000 cottagers receive a free hamburger, cheeseburger
or veggie burger, courtesy of Cottage Life.